Card filing equipment



3 l 2 3 0 8 muss KtrtHtNUt SEARCH ROOM March 27, 1945. G. c. BRUEN CARD FILING EQUIPMENT Filed April 3, 1943 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 omnun nuum March 27, 1945.

March 27; 1945. s. c. BRUEN 2,372,249

CARD FILING EQUIPMENT Filed April 3, 1943 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 DHUQQ RQI'LHLIiUC OLHRUH HUUWI March 21,1945. G. c. 3mm 2,372,249 2 CARD FILING EQUIPMENT Filed April 3, 1943 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 v Z6 FFgAs I 56 I @Wzgd.

March 27, 1945. s. c. BRUEN 2,372,249

cm FILING EQUIPMENT Filed April 3, 1943 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 CARD FILING EQUIPMENT Filed April 3. 1943 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Jaerzhh e %arevz Patented Mar. 27, 1945 ISSUED 8.372.249 Cm FILING mm lll nineperee'ntto- Park. Sarah M. Bullock, Wilmette, m tch and onehalf percent to G. A. Stuart, Washington, D. 0..

.twopercenttoJayFlsher, centtoMarie'lhoenemllmwood I a Park.lll.,one

pa'oenttoGeorgeEl reder-imwoagmms andoneperoenttonlt'lhorsemitloseph,

mutants April 3. ms. Serial No. 4mm

8Claims.

My invention relates to filing equipment where records are kept on cards or the like and readily available to an operator for consultation thereof, or entries thereon, or both.

when thousands of cards must be available to one operator, it is impossible to place all of vthe cards within the rather limited field wherein anycardmaybeconsultedwithinreadyreading range without the necessity of the operator making fatiguing shifts of her body. For efficiency, from the standpoint of both speed andthe elimination of operator fatigue, it is desirable that when there are more cards to be made available than can be accommodated within that rather limited field, the other cards be brought into that field for consultation, that is, that the cards be brought to the operator instead of the operator to the cards.

In accordance with this principle, it has been a practice to put the cards in a long tray which is longitudinally shifted through the operator's working field 'I'hat long card tray is shiftably mounted in a still longer cabinet-the cabinet usually three to five feet longer than the tray. When the trays are long enough to accommodate thousands of sizable cards, the length of the cabinet may be three to six times the length of 'the cabinet of an ordinary piece of filing equipment. 1 Thus such cabinets are unwieldy-un wieldy in crating, in shipping, in moving through doorways for installation, and also for fioor plan lay-cut for batteries of the cabinets.

But even more serious, it has not been feasible to house such equipment in fireproof cabinets, both because the design does not adapt the cabinet to being efiectively closed and because the weight of so large a single cabinet-if of fireproof construction-would be prohibitive.

Oneobiect of my invention is to provide filing equipment which makes thousands of sizable cards available to inspection by an operator within her mostconvenient working field bylthis principle of bringing the. cards to the operator, but'where the above-mentioned objections to present filing equipment are avoided-that is. where the cabinet units are kept small for convenience in crating, shipping and handling. where they are more flexible in battery lay-out in an omce, where the cabinets are feasibly made of fireproof construction which can be effectively closed off whenever the cards are not being consuited, and where the weight of the cabinet units. despite the. fireproof. construction; is prohibitive for-ready handling.

Another. advantage of my invention is that not whenever the cards are not being actively consulted they may be readily locked up and stored within their fireproof and burglar-proof cabinets, and the inside lengths of the cabinets need not be any longer than the card trays. that is, theshiftingofthecardtraysiseffectedinmy invention without having to make the cabinet considerably longer than the tray.

Another advantage of my invention is that the cabinet construction, when the cards are not being actively consulted. may readily be converted into a large fiat-topped desk; but whether or not the cabinet structure is thus converted.

it always oifers a sizable fiat counter-height surface area within reach of the operator.

My invention is adaptable to either longitudinal or crosswise filing of the cards.

The foregoing, together with further objects. features and advantages of my invention are set forth in the following description of specific embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figs. 1 to 8 inclusive show one form;

Fig. 9 shows a slight modification of the first form, whereby the door of the insulated cabinet is hinged at the cabinet top:

Figs. 10 to 13 inclusive show a second form employing a drawer track rather than a drawer suspension:

Figs. 14 and 15 show a third form using halfwidth drawers mounted side by side by individual drawer suspensions:

Figs. 16 to.i9 inclusive show a fourth form in which the rows of cards are filed crosswise of the drawer and it is intended that the operator will sit with her knees under'the drawers, the drawers being supported by drawer suspensions;

Figs. 20 and 21 show a fifth form similar to the fourth form but with the drawers supported on tracks; and v a l 'lgs. -22, 23, andii show a sixth form of my invention in which the removal of the cabinet closure opens the top as well as the front of the drawer compartment of each cabinet and where, preferably, the compartment is not insulated.

More-specifically: Fig. 1 shows a pair .of cabinets in i the proper spaced relation to give effect to my invention. the doors of the insulated compartments of the two cabinets being opened:

Fig. 3 is a similar view but with the drawers pulled out from the cabinet compartments and coupled together;

l 'lg zisafragmentaryperspectivetakenon the line 3 of Hg. 2 showing the inter-front coupling for the drawers:

Fig. 4 is an end elevation ofoneofFthe cabinets of Fig. 1 with the doorofi the insulated cabinet open;- v

Fig- 5 is a transverse vertical section through the upper part of one of the cabinets and its drawer;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal vertical. section through one of the cabinets and itsrdrawer;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the cabi-- nets of Fig. 1 but with thedoor of the insulated cabinet closed and locked;

Fig. 8 is a floor plan lay-out of a battery of pairs of cabinets such as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is a view of one of the cabinets similaryto' Fig. 7 but modified to show the door hinged at the top;

Fig. 10 is a plan view of a pair of cabinets similar to the cabinets of Fig. 1 but showing another plan in which the cabinets ride on tracksand aremovable track bridges between the cabinets;

Fig. 11 is a vertical'longitudinal section taken on the line ll -l| of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary transverse verticalsection taken on the lines l2-l2 of Figs. 10' and 11;

Fig.'13 is a fragmentary-plan section taken on the lines |3l3' ofFi'g. 12;

Fig. 14 is atransverse vertical section of another form of cabinet similar to that of Fig. l but having a pair of side-by-side drawers" each with its individual drawer suspension Fig. 15 is a longitudinal vertical section taken on the line l5'l5 of Fig. 14

Fig. I 6' is a-perspective view of a-pair of cabinets embodying another form of my invention;

Fig. 17 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 18 is atransverse vertical section taken through one oithe drawers on line Ill-l8 in Fig. 7. V

Fig. 19 (sheet'5i is a longitudinal verticalsection of the adjoining ends of the cabinets in Fig.

Fig. 20 is a side elevation of a pair of cabinets showing another form'of myinvention similar to that of Fig. 1'7 but employing a track rather than a drawer suspension;

Fig. 21 is a verti al' transversesection taken on the line 2I-2l in g. 20 looking toward the end of one cabinet;

Fig. 22 is a side view of a pair of cabinets. one of which is in longitudinal vertical section of a sixth form of my invention, the drawers being stored within their respective cabinets and the closures being in closed position;

Fig. 23 is a similar view but with both cabinets in. vertical section, with the drawers extended and coupled together and with one closure in open position; and 2gFig. 24 is a plan view of the equipment of Fig.

Fig. 25 is a fragmentary top plan view showing the corner construction of the cover in Fig. 16.

Referring to Figs. 1' to 8; which illustrate the first form of my invention, a pair of similar cabinets 25' are set with" their ends facing but spaced apart by a distance" approximating the inside length of" each cabinet. Each cabinet consists of an insulated cabinet section- 26' set upon a noninsulated base section 21' to bring the top of the insulated section up to usualdesk height. The construction of the insulated section 26- preferably follows the construction of that type of safe which employs inner and outer metal walls with an intervening layer of'insulationand calculated to stand aone or twohour fire test. A similarly constructed door 28 is provided at the front end of the insulated section of the cabinet. It is hinged atitsbottom by'external hinge brackets 29 pivoted on the under side of the insulated cabinet and balanced by a counterweight 30 working'within the base section at the far side thereof.

When the cabinet is closed, as shown in Fig. '7, the door is secured by a lock 3|. When it is opened, the counterweight 30 permits the door to: swingv to the dotted line position of Fig. 6, which is thehorizontal position of Fig. 1.

Within: each cabinet is a card drawer 32. It is extensibly supported in the cabinet by a drawer suspension 33 employing mechanism which may be a substantial duplication of the better type 1 of filing; cabinet drawer suspensions employing floating bars which carry rollers engaging fixed tracks in the cabinet and tracks on the drawer sides.- The drawer suspension is such as to suspend. the drawer when substantially fully withdrawn to make its entire capacity accessible from without; The drawer frontal, it will be understood, need not form a full closure as filing cabinetdrawer fronts usually do; the door 28- is a fitted closure. Each drawer front has a finger slot 35 with beaded edges into which the fingers may be inserted to pull" the drawer out. Each drawer front 34 also carries the complementary half of a coupling (Fig. 3) which. comprises a coupling strip iii-fixed to'the inside of the drawer front and having a hookedend occupying a mid position of a hole 31 through the drawer front. Preferably the bottom'of the hole is spaced down from the coupling by little more than the width ofthe coupling strip; and the clearance between the-top'ofthecoupling strip and the top of the hole issimilarly a little greater than the width or the strip. A's shown in Fig. 3, when the two drawer fronts come together; this coupling mechanism permits their being intercoupledi The arrangement is such that both drawers can be identical'; one doesnot' have to be a right and the other a left.

To transform the equipment from the two closed' cabinets, one of which is shown in Fig. 7, tothe card consulting arrangement of Fig. 2, the doors of the two cabinets are unlocked and swung down to the horizontal position of Fig. l, where they underlie the level" of the drawers. Then the d'r-awers are pulled' out until their drawer fronts 34 meet. Then the front end of one drawer is lifted' up-a half an inch or so to drop its coupling hook behind the coupling hook of the other drawer front, as shown in Fig. 3. This couples the two drawers together so that they move as one ontheir respective drawer suspensions.

In the form of Figs. 1 to 8 the cards 31 are ratherlarge-six by ten inches-and set on end in two rows extending longitudinally of the drawers. If the cards are still larger or are large sheets. they may be set' in a single row. The drawers are shown with divider plates 38 subdividing the cards at intervals. The dividers are hinged to the bottom of the drawer as by projections extending into slots 39 in the drawer bottour.

In the form 01'' Figs. 1 to 8; where the cards occupy considerable depth beneath the cabinet tops; which are preferably kept at about desk height; the operator cannot conveniently put her knees under the drawers. Therefore she sits sidewi'se of" the coupled drawers reaching one or both hands over the exposed field of cards between the two cabinets. She shifts the two coupled drawers as a unit as required tobring the desired card into her field of convenient manipulation.

showmmakingforamostconcentrateduseof" Shiftingmaybeefiectedby pushing or pulling horiaontally upon the cards. The spaced dividers It, although hinged. keep the cards from shifting throughout the length of the entire drawer under such push or pull. Also, shifting of the coupled drawers may be conveniently efiected by engaging the thumb or fingers on the transversely fluted obliquely presented upward margin ll of the drawer side-especially of the near drawer side.

By my invention I get the efiect of a long drawer full of cards shiftable past the-operator to bring the desired cards into the zone of convenient inspection and manipulation by the operator without her having to move or substantially shift her body. But yet no structure of my equipment hasto be much longer than half the length of the assembled cards.

The cards are readily put back in their fireproof housings by simply lifting the front of one drawer a half an inch or so to imeouple the drawer fronts, pushing the two drawers closed and closing the m cabinet doors. This leaves two sightly, selftained, independent cabinets of convenient desk height and about the sire of .low conventional filing cabinets, with a clear space between them. Also. if it is necessary to inspect only cards in one of the drawers, that may be done without the necessity'of opening the other cabinet. i

The position of one of the cabinets in reference to the other need be only approximate. This avoids the necessity of fastening either cabinet to the floor and it eliminates the necessity of any spacing framework interposed between or connecting the two cabinets to insure a critical rela tive position. An error. of an inch or so in the available fioor space. when thecabinets of such a battery are closed for the night, a free-aisle way is formed between the cabinet fronts, by shifting-back the chairs. which is a practical convenience in cleaning the floors. r

In Fig. 9 I have shown a modification of the foregoing form of my invention, in which the door of the insulated section is hinged at the top and when opened'is swung upwardly'to lie fiat upon the top of the cabinet.

Referring to Figs. 12 to 13, which show a second form of my invention, instead of slidably supporting the drawers by the extension type of drawer suspensions the drawers have wheels which. run on tracks.

Each drawer carries four wheels "-two on each side, one near the front and one near the back of the drawer. Those wheels, which are pulley shaped, run on rod-like heads of channel rails 45 fixed along the lateral bottom edges of spacing of the cabinets will not deieat satisi'actory operation as described. Nor is it necessary out of alignment with the other cabinet, without serious .And the two cabinets may be set upon uneven floors sothatthey are not co-planar.

. The tops of the two cabinets are sufiiciently standarddeskheightandalsoso nearthe of the earth. that one of the'cabinettops the interior of the insulated cabinet. When the .The bridging track ll carries a pair of rails 41 which, when the frame is in position, constitute aligned extensions of the fixed rails 45. Extensions it at each corner,of the bridging frame are adapted to extend into the bight of the adjoining channel rail 45 and to be registered therewith by locating pins or studs ll which extend down into suitable holes in the web .of the chan- -nel'rails ll, as shown in Figs. 12 and 13.

With the aid of the rails on thebridgingframe 4!, the drawer wheels, when 7 the drawers are pulled out, pass from the fixed rails 45 on to the bridging rails 41. Thus the coupled-together drawers may shift along a track which is about three times as long asone of the drawers.

An optional arrangement of dividers is shown in Fig. 11. Here each divider 5| isrigidly, rather than hingedly, mounted (as by welding) in the drawer and extends as high as the cards-or a little higher-with a rolled upper edge presenting a convenient head to be engaged by the operators fingers for pushing and pulling the coupledtogether drawers to shift them.

I consider the arrangement in the first form of my invention to be preferable to that of Figs;

'10 to 13 format purposes,'because the employmentofthebridgingtrackallowsforlesstoleranoeinthespacingapartofthetwocabinets and in their alignment; because it involves the problem-of storing the bridging .irame when not in use; and because of the bridgingframe involves more time in converting the cabinets from closedcabinets into operating position. Butitisinadvantageinsupportingdrawers whiehareextrabeavyorextra'long.wherethe ordinary extension type of drawer -n mightnotbesofllssed- Referring songs. 14 and 15, which show a third form of my invention, theextension drawer suspemion. rather than'a bridging track, 'is em-. played. Buthereeachcabinethasitsdrawersof halfwid thJaehwithitadwnindependent drawer ononbothsirllofthedrawei This 'eaeheabinetha'safinedusestripilateachside ofiflinteriorandaduplicatecuesiripil'along tbemiddiaof its-interior, and there are four floating extensionbars it within eaeh.cabinet.

For still smaller cards, three or more drawers may be mounted side by side in each insulated cabinet section.

The cards may be contained in two or more trays 53 set in tandem in each drawer. A tray full of cards may conveniently be lifted out of the drawer and carried to another desk or oflice for temporary inspection there.

By using a plurality of side-by-side drawers in each cabinet, and by coupling the front of each drawer to the front of the drawer aligned with it in the opposite cabinet, I divide the cards among two or more pairs of coupled-together drawers, each coupled-together pair being shiftable independently of the others. In this way the weight of the coupled-together drawers and the cards which the operator has to push or pull in order to bring a desired card into the field of her convenient inspection, is materially reduced, and consequently the operating fatigue.

In Fig. 16 the cabinets are shown with the false cover 5612 bridging the space between the working surfaces of the tops of the cabinets. Fig. 25 is a fragmentary view showing the corner construction of the false cover 56b in this position. False cover 56b has a depending flange 56c which fits outside the side wall of each adjacent cabinet, but is too short to engage the side walls of the cabinets in the position of Fig. 16. Depending flanges 56c terminate at 56d short of the end of the false cover and the projecting end portions 56c rest on top of each cabinet.

In Figs. 16 to 19 I have shown a fourth form of my invention which is particularly adapted to cards of sufliciently low height that the operator may conveniently place her knees under the drawers. Therefore she can sit facing the drawers and the cards may more conveniently be set in rows which extend transversely of the drawers. I prefer, as shown, to set each transverse row of cards in an individual transverse tray 54 which in turn is removably set transversely of the drawer. Because relatively shallow drawers may be used in this form, the insulated cabinet section which contains them is also rather shall-ow. In consequence the hinged insulated door is so small that it need not be counter-balanced and can, as shown, be swung down to vertical position against the front ends of the base sections of the cabinets.

When the operator faces the drawers, the field in which she can conveniently inspect and. manipulate cards without having to shift her body is considerably larger than when she sits sidewise of the drawers. This is partly because the drawers can extend on both her right and her left and also because she. can conveniently use both right and left hands for manipulating the cards. Therefore, a space between the two cabinets, which is normally determined more or less by that field of ready inspection, can be considerably longer and when that spacing between the cabinets is longer, each drawer can be that much. longer. Consequently, and. as best seen by comparison of Fig. 17 with Fig. 1, I have shown in this form a considerably longer cabinet and drawer, and a correspondingly longer space between the cabinets. This materially increases the number of cards which can be accommodated. Yet this does not necessarily involve more effort on the part of the operator in shifting the coupled-together pair of drawers with their increased number of cards, and this form, where the operator sits facing the drawers with her knees under the drawers, is feasible when the cards are smaller, and consequently although there are more cards tobe shifted in the drawers in this form than in the form of Fig. 1, the weight of the shallower draw= ers and shallower cards is not necessarily greater.

When, as in this form, the operator sits facing the drawers, I prefer that the drawers be sifted by means of a tubular handrail 55 supported at least at the near side of each drawer a little below the tops of the cards. This handrail also forms a convenient hand or arm rest in inspecting the cards.

As indicated in Fig. 1'7 each cabinet ,of this form carries a false top, that of one cabinet being identified as 560, and that of the other as 56h These false tops have shallow marginal flanges whereby they are seated upon the primary tops of the cabinets. One of these false covers or tops 56a is removed, inverted, and set-with its ends supported in the lower reaches of the door frames of the insulated compartments, as shown in Figs. 16 and 19 to underlie the extended drawers but above knee height. Thereby the false cover 56a serves as a knee guard to prevent the drawers shifting inadvertently and catching on the operators clothing. An incidentally it serves to catch any dropped cards which might otherwise fall to the floor.

In a somewhat similar manner the false cover 58b of the other cabinet may be removed and set between the cabinets to lie substantially flush with'the primary tops and thereby convert the two cabinets into what is virtually one long desk top. To-accomplish this result, the-end edge portions of the false cover 56b should rest on the tops of the adjacent cabinets 25, 25, which should be close enough to gether so that the depending side flanges on the false covers 56b have a substantial fit between the cabinets. This, of course, is done only when the: cards are not being actively consulted but where itis desirable to have a large temporary working space at convenient desk height.

Because the insulated doors in this form are dropped down to vertica1 position where they lie against the fronts of the cabinets, they do not interfere with the operators knees.

In Figs. 20 and 21, which illustrate a fifth form of my invention, the drawers are sumciently shah low to permit the operator to put her legs beneath the drawers and sit facing the drawers. And consequently the cards are preferably filed crosswise of the drawers. But in lieu of the track suspensions shown in the form of Figs. 16 to- I9, I employ tracks on which the drawers run. somewhat akin to the form of Fig. 16. In the form of Figs. 20 and 21, however, the bridging frame is in the form of a removable false top 56a which on its underside has a pair 01' depending rails 41'. When this false top 58a is removed from its cabinet, inverted, and set to bridge between the cabinets, as shown in Fig. 21, the rails 41' come stitute extensions of the fixed track within the cabinet on which the drawer wheels roll. This, therefore, offers a solution to the problem of-the convenient storage of the bridging frame H" of Fig. 10, and at the same time provides a knee guard for the operator whenshe can sit facing the drawers.

-59 and by the extension thereabove of the back and side walls of the cabinet. But the top and front-end of each drawer compartment 58 is open exceptastheyareclosedbyaclosure ll. ltach closure II is L-shaped in side elevation and consists of a horizontal top closure portion tit and a depending front closure portion II}. To open the two cabinets for the withdrawal and coupling together ofv their drawers, the closure ti of one of the cabinets-the right-hand cabinet in the drawings-is lifted from its seat upon the cabinet,

turned end for end in a horizontal plane. and again set upon the cabinet with its portion It closing the top of that cabinet but with its depending end closure 8H lying more or less flatv substantially flatwise against each other.

Thus by this shifting around ofthe closuresj II, the top of the drawer compartment 58 of the right-hand cabinet is closed but the front is left open, the two closures are disposed of in such a manner as to be relatively inconspicuous and out of sight and still preserve a working top surface on the right-hand cabinet which the operator may conveniently use'fcr storing papers or even for writing on them. Andalso by this shifting of the closures, both the front and top of the lefthand -cabinet compartment is left open.

The respective drawers II are then pulled out andintercoupled in the manner previously described.

This form-of my invention has the advantage of exposing a region, longer than the gap between cabinets, within which the-operator may examine cards. Also, it facilitates inspection where a second operator sits on the other side of the same cabinets and lnspects'cards in the drawers.

The opening of the top of one of the drawer compartments inthis form of my invention also facilitates the casual finding and inspection or expose substantially its length. thetwo removal by one, other than the attendant operator, who may walk up to the me for that purpose without sitting down at .the die.

I have not shown the drawer compartment in this form of my invention as being insulated, because of the burden on the operator of lifting and -handlingsolargeaclosurewereitoftheweight required for fireproof construction, and also because of thelong perimeter along which a fireproof seal would have to be made in intersecting planes.

therefore does not appear conspicuously out of' place because of excessive-length or "bulk, even though it may be heavily iireproofed.

also,inalloftheformsofmyinventionhere illustrated, thetwo cabinet imits. with their re spective drawers.- constitute idsnflcal units. 'ihatis,onedoes-nothavetobespeeialiym'ade asarightandtheotherasale'ft. Ivsnwhere .iheinsulat'eddoorhssa'counterweightasfliown \inrig. 6,itsshankhasadetaehabis oonnoctiontlfwithathrsadsdstudonthshnnets bracket 2! depending below the pivot pin bear ins. Thus when the units are assembled for installation the counterweight may be attached to either one of the two hinge brackets 29 of the drawer. Thereby the counter-balance can be put at=that side of each cabinet base which will be remote from the operator, so that the swinging of the counterweight will not interfere with access to the interior of the base through the doors 4|. The bases themselves need not be rights and lefts. The doors" 4| may be duplicated on the remote aide. Or, if the doors ll are employed only on one side of each base, then the two ends will be made alike in that both ends will provide vertical slots for the door hinge brackets 29.

As previously explained, the inter-drawer coupling members of Fig. 3 are so arranged that the drawer fronts need not be made in rights and lei'ts.

go Where there are side-by-side drawers, as in Figs. 14 and 15, a second operator seated on the far side may work simultaneously on the far side tandem-coupled drawers, shifting them independently of the near side drawers worked upon a by the first operator.

While 1 have described and illustrated these specific forms of my invention, I contemplate that many changes and substitutions may be made without departing from the scope and a spirit ofmyinvention.

I claim: 1. Fireproof card filing equipment comprising a pair of cabinets each having an insulated vaultlike upper section, a base section therebeneath 35 for supporting the vault-like .section on the floor of a room with its top at deskheight, and an insulated door for the vault-like section, a card drawer for each vault-like section, of length approximating the interior length thereof, and a 40 floating bar type extensible drawer suspension in each vault-like action and on its drawer for slidably supporting the drawer for horizontal reciprocation whereby the drawer may be fully inserted for closing of the door and withdrawn to cabinets set with their dooredends facingand E rig 6 asvaew wherein there are extensible drawer suspensions for the second drawers whereby they reciprocate independently of the first drawers, and wherein the second drawers are similarly detachably coupled together to reciprocate as a unit independently of the first drawers.

5. Card filing equipment according to claim 1 wherein the two cabinets are positionally independent of each other, save for their resting on a common floor of a room and for the interdrawer coupling.

6. Card filing equipment according to claim 1 wherein the inter-drawer coupling aflords substantial pivotal joint movement as between the drawers, whereby operatively to allow substantial angularity of position as between the two cabinets.

7. Record filing equipment comprising a pair of cabinets each having an opening for the pas.- sage into the cabinet of one of the hereinafter mentioned drawers and a door for the opening to close up the compartment when the drawer is stored therein, a drawer for each compartment of a length approximating the interior length of the compartment, a cabinet-carried drawer suspension for each drawer supporting the drawer for horizontal reciprocation into and out from the compartment, the cabinets being set with their openings facing each other and spaced apart a distance of substantially a drawer length with the drawers in substantial alignment, and a releasable coupling for temporarily connecting the drawers together end to end to shift longitudinally as a unit.

8. A filing equipment comprising a pair of cabinets, each of said cabinets being provided with an opening in one of its vertical sides for receiving a drawer, and said openings being arranged in opposition to each other, with the cabinets spaced by an amount substantially equal to the length of a drawer, a drawer in the opening of each cabinet, and means for slidably mounting the drawers in their respective cabinets, said drawers being arranged in substantial alignment with each other, and connecting means carried by the abutting ends of the drawers for temporarily connecting the drawers together and permitting a limited lateral movement and limited pivotal movement between said drawers whereby the two drawers may be caused to move in tandem as a unit and the records carried by the two drawers are accessible in the space between the two drawers, said connecting means comprising a pair of oppositely disposed inter-engaging members, each having a recess for receiving the edge of the other.

- GEORGE C. BRUEN. 

